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Saturday, June 13, 2026
News and Views from the Global South
IPS UN: Inside the Glasshouse
How the Private Sector Can Create Jobs and Drive Development in Western & Central Africa
Every year in Western and Central Africa, 6 million young people enter the labor force, while only about half a million new jobs are created. This enormous jobs deficit means that most entrants into the workforce work in the informal sector, with insecure income, low quality employment, and very little hope of escaping poverty.
WFP in Gaza: ‘We Need a Long Ceasefire That Leads to Peace so We Can Operate’
Corinne Fleischer, WFP’s regional director for the Middle East, North Africa and Eastern Europe, describes Gaza as “a terrible situation getting worse.” Over the past two weeks, 21 United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) food distribution points have been closed under evacuation orders.
The Plight of Women Three Years after Taliban Takeover in Afghanistan
I’ve just come back from the north of Afghanistan. I asked the women I met what they want the world to know about their lives. One woman, Nasima told me: “I was married at 16. I couldn’t finish school. My hope was that my daughter’s life would be better. Now I’m worried her life is going to be worse. To those who are still listening to our voices, please help us fight for our freedom.”
South Sudan: World’s Youngest Nation at a Crossroads
Thirteen years since becoming an independent state, South Sudan faces profound humanitarian challenges. South Sudan’s first Independence Day was imbued with a great sense of hope.
Killings of Palestinian Journalists Continue –Aided by Uninterrupted Flow of US Arms
The growing number of killings of Palestinian journalists in Gaza has triggered a demand for a cut-off in US arms supplies to Israel. Sarah Leah Whitson, Executive Director, Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN), told IPS despite pleas of the international community to suspend arms to Israel in the face of its unprecedented atrocities against Palestinians in Gaza, including the killing of over 165 Palestinian journalists, it beggars the imagination that Biden is now seeking to sell Israel new weaponry to facilitate even more slaughter.
Will the New Cybercrime Treaty be Used as a Tool for Government Repression?
A new UN Cybercrime Treaty, which is expected to be adopted by the UN General Assembly later this year, is being denounced by over 100 human rights activists and civil society organizations (CSOs) as a potential tool for government repression. The treaty is expected to be adopted by a UN Ad Hoc Committee later this week and move to the 193-member General Assembly for final approval.
Should There be a Dedicated Credit Rating Agency for Asia & the Pacific?
Following persistent and determined efforts, Africa has achieved a breakthrough in advancing the establishment of an African credit rating agency (ACRA), with the proposed launch scheduled for December 2024.
UN Calls for ‘Peaceful, Orderly and Democratic Transition’ Following Protests in Bangladesh
After weeks of violent clashes against protestors, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned from her position and fled the country on Monday. Preparations are underway for an interim government to take over with the backing of the military, political parties, student leaders of the protest movement and all other groups involved in the transition. A UN spokesperson has urged that all parties involved in the current transition should work together to ensure a peaceful and democratic transition.
ECOWAS at 49: Successes in Regional Integration, Despite Emerging Challenges
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) was founded in 1975 to promote economic integration in the region. Forty-nine years later, the regional bloc boasts significant successes in integration, peace and security and good governance, but also faces some challenges.
UN’s Summit of the Future
Preparations are ongoing for the upcoming Summit of the Future, probably the most consequential initiative of UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres so far.
79 Years After Hiroshima & Nagasaki: A Grim Reminder of Nuclear Annihilation
The upcoming 79th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which took place on August 6 and 9, 1945, remains a grim reminder of the destructive consequences of nuclear weapons. The US bombings killed an estimated 90,000 to 210,000, with roughly half of the deaths occurring on the first day in Hiroshima.
Economic Prospects in Asia & the Pacific – Celebrate Resilience, Prepare for Headwinds
Economic performance in Asia and the Pacific has proved to be quite resilient to the shocks of the past few years – the COVID-19 pandemic, the ongoing wars in Ukraine and Gaza, and the cost-of-living crisis. In 2023, the region’s economy drove over 60 per cent of the global economic growth.
Harris Is Best-Positioned to Lead the Way
Within the Democratic field, no potential candidate for president is better-positioned, at this juncture, to defeat Trump more skillfully and pointedly than Kamala Harris. She is writing a new chapter in American history that will chart a new national course impacting future generations.
Building Tomorrow Today
Around the world, young people are driving change to ensure our youngest learners get the best start in life. In rural Kenya, Aisha, a young female entrepreneur trained through a UNICEF-supported programme, has started her own Early Childhood Education (ECE) centre. This centre provides quality early learning to over 50 children and creates jobs for other young women as teachers and support staff.
Will the New Triumvirate—Russia, China & North Korea—Force the South To Go Nuclear?
When Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un signed a pact last month to revive a Cold War-era mutual defense pledge between two of the world’s nuclear powers, it also had the implicit support a third nuclear power standing in the shadows: China.
Achieving the 10-10-10 HIV Targets by 2025
Around the world countries are taking powerful steps to protect people’s rights, dignity, and health. Dominica and Namibia became the most recent to decriminalize same-sex relations. South Africa made strides towards decriminalizing sex work.
This Time is Different for Fiscal Policy – Ageing Proceeds Fast
Several Asia-Pacific countries are ageing fast. This transition is neither unique nor limited to the region -- it is a global megatrend. However, this time it is different. Why? Because ageing proceeds quite fast.
How African Governments Can Lead the Way on Ending Child Marriage
Thandi*, a 14-year-old girl from Malawi, is both a child and a mother. After she and her siblings were orphaned, they were left in the care of their grandmother, who struggled to provide for them.
The US Election & the Dangers of Nuclear Weapons
Today, we are facing a growing and unprecedented array of nuclear weapons dangers. At the same time, this year’s presidential election is also unprecedented, unpredictable, and extremely consequential.
New Military Alliances Forming in the Pacific
On the heels of a new alliance announced this summer by Russia and North Korea for a pact pledging mutual defense, with the support of China, it is now shockingly being suggested in South Korea that it review its security policy with the US and end its reliance on the US guarantee, to employ on South Koreas’ behalf, US nuclear weapons as part of its “nuclear umbrella”.
First, it was Food as Weapon of War– & Then Came Water…
The Palestinians in Gaza have been victims of a double tragedy: killings by Israel’s mostly American-made weapons and deaths by starvation. And now comes a revelation of a new weapon of war: how Israel has been systematically weaponizing water against Palestinians in Gaza, according to a new report from the global human rights organization, Oxfam.« Previous Page — Next Page »
It was dubbed "The Glass House" by U.S. ambassador James Wadsworth in 1966. Half a century later, the United Nations has gradually expanded its role as agent of peace and protector of the world's vulnerable populations, while simultaneously facing internal pressures to become more inclusive, increase transparency and maintain legitimacy in the post-Cold War political and economic order. Highlighting the local impacts of global policies on economic development, environment, health and human rights, IPS's coverage goes beyond the edicts of the Security Council to illuminate the power struggles, successes and shortcomings of the 193-member institution as it grapples with crises like climate change, armed conflict, poverty and HIV/AIDS.
The Week with IPS
